Contents

History

Before the idea of a Nintendo wiki network was fully formulated, ZeldaWiki approached Bulbapedia to begin a possible affiliation. After some deliberation, it was eventually decided that an entire network of independent Nintendo-based wikis could be created, and the Super Mario Wiki was asked to become a founding member. Soon thereafter, Zelda Wiki administrators Axiomist and Mandy contacted Porplemontage, the founder of Super Mario Wiki, about an alliance with the Zelda Wiki, which he initially refused.

Some time later, Bulbapedia's headmaster, Archaic, made this post in the Mario Wiki forums, which led to a formal discussion about the then-called INW, or Independent Nintendo Wikis. Progress was made, and after a few days, Porplemontage agreed to the alliance and the Super Mario Wiki became the third founding member of NIWA.

Name

There were many proposals for the name of this new organization, but the one that was eventually chosen was the "Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance" or "NIWA." In Japanese, niwa 「にわ」 means "garden," symbolizing the natural growth of our fan communities. The acronym is especially fitting given Nintendo's own origins in Japan.